(s 

ADDRESS 

I 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 

PHILOMATHIAN  SOCIETY, 

AT  THE 

ANNUAL  COMMENCEMENT 


Jfimrat  ioint  3tknf®  Culltgf, 

EMMITTSBURG,  FREDERICK  COUNTY,  Mi, 

ON  JUNE  30,  1852, 


By  JOHN  F.  ENNIS,  Esq. 


BALTIMORE: 

PRINTED  BY  HEDIAN  & O’BRIEN, 
82  BALTIMORE  STREET. 

1852. 


Mount  St.  Mary’s  College,  ? 

June  30 th,  1852.  $ 


Dear  Sir : 

The  Philomathian  Society,  impelled  by  the  delight  which  they  ex- 
perienced in  listening  to  your  address,  return  you  their  most  sincere  thanks  and 
solicit  a copy  for  publication. 

We  remain 

Your  obedient  servants. 


Jno.  F.  Ennis,  Esq,. 


JNO.  F.  KNIGHT, 

S.  M.  CHATARD, 

JNO.  R.  IGLEHART, 
GEO.  S.  HERB,  f 

CHS.  E.  THOMPSON.  | 
AUG.  J.  McCONOMY, J 


Committee 

Of 

Philomathian  Society . 


Mt.  St.  Mary’s  College,  ? 

June  ‘SOth,  1852.  $ 

Gentlemen : 

In  deference  to  your  wishes,  I accepted  your  kind  invitation  to  ad- 
dress you.  Actuated  by  the  same  spirit,  I now  comply  with  the  request, 
contained  in  your  note  just  received,  and  herewith  place  at  your  disposal  a copy 
of  my  remarks. 

With  many  thanks  for  your  kindness,  I remain. 

Yours  truly, 

JOHN  F.  ENNIS. 

To  Messrs.  John  F.  Knight  and  others. 

Committee , <§’C. 


< * :i  ,ri  » 


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ADDRESS- 


Gentlemen  of  the 

Philomathian  Society  : 

In  obedience  to  your  call,  which,  as  a Mountaineer,  I have 
not  felt  at  liberty  to  disobey,  I am  here,  to-day,  to  discharge 
the  duty  assigned  me  by  your  kind  partiality.  While  ac- 
knowledging, with  grateful  feelings,  the  honor  conferred 
upon  me  by  the  selection,  let  me  transfer  to  your  shoulders 
the  burden  and  responsibility  of  the  tax,  which,  through  me, 
you  are  about  to  impose  upon  the  patience  and  attention  of 
our  kind  friends,  here  assembled. 

It  is  no  unmeaning  phrase,  I assure  you,  gentlemen,  when 
I say  to  you  that  I enter  upon  the  performance  of  my  task 
with  feelings  difficult  to  be  expressed  in  wwds.  A multi- 
tude of  thoughts  now  crowTd  to  my  mind.  The  time  which 
has  elapsed  since  I left  this  hallowed  retreat  of  science  and 
learning,  seems  almost  to  be  annihilated,  so  vividly  do 
the  recollections  of  my  college  days,  now  rise  up  before  my 
view.  Here  were  spent  four  of  the  happiest  years  of  life, 
amid  friends  and  companions  now 

s( Scattered  like  ros^s  in  bloom, 

Some  at  the  bridal  and  some  at  the  lomb.” 

Solemn  and  impressive,  indeed,  is  the  lesson  which  I read 
in  the  absence  of  all  those  familiar  faces,  which  surrounded 
me,  when  I participated,  as  I had  supposed,  for  the  last  time 
in  the  ceremonies  of  this  day.  But  the  theme  is  of  too  mel- 


6 


ancholy  a character  to  be  indulged  in  amid  the  festivities  of 
an  occasion  like  the  present.  There  are  other  changes  which 
meet  my  eye,  and  which  are  worthy  of  a passing  notice. 
This  spacious  hall — this  magnificent  building — now  stands 
forth,  the  realization  of  the  dreams , which  the  students  of  our 
day  were  wont  to  indulge  in,  with  regard  to  the  future  of  our 
Alma  Mater.  The  old  room,  which,  during  the  year,  was 
known  as  the  “Study  Room,”  but,  on  this  day,  was  styled 
“Exhibition  Hall,”  now  lives  in  the  memory  of  the  past, 
while  those  antique  desks  and  benches  which  it  contained, 
and  whereon  we  were  accustomed  to  pore  over  the  tough 
passages  of  Tacitus  and  Xenophon,  are  now  supplanted  by 
the  luxurious  furniture  which  the  progress  of  the  times  has 
rendered  necessary  for  the  use  and  convenience  of  the  Moun- 
taineers of '52. 

It  were  a pleasing  task  to  dwell  with  you  upon  these 
gratifying  evidences  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  our 
Mountain  Home,  and  to  pay  the  tribute  of  a Mountaineer’s 
thanks  to  the  worthy  Head,  under  whose  administration  these 
improvements  have  been  effected.  But  the  subject  which  I 
have  selected  for  our  consideration  obliges  me  to  forego  the 
grateful  task,  and  to  pass  on  to  the  notice  of  changes  made, 
beyond  your  College  walls  and  in  that  arena  into  which  you 
are  shortly  to  enter,  to  engage  in  that  great  battle  which  will 
end  only  with  } our  existence.  With  the  noise  and  din  of  the 
combatants  still  ringing  in  my  ears,  1 have  come  to  offer 
whatever  assistance  my  experience  will  enable  me  to  give,  to- 
wards preparing  you  for  the  contest. 

Upon  the  very  portals  of  this  arena,  will  be  found  em- 
blazoned in  letters — perhaps  of  brass — the  word  “Progress ,” 
and  here,  without  proceeding  further,  we  may  find  a subject 
worthy  of  our  serious  attention  and  consideration. 

It  would  be  idle,  at  this  day,  to  deny  that  this  is  an  age  of 
Progress,  and  it  would,  doubtless,  be  considered  presump- 
tuous to  contest  the  claim  which  our  country  presents  to  the 


7 


apellation  of  a “nation  of  progress.”  We  have  reversed  the 
figures  which  designated  the  original  number  of  the  States, 
and  from  13,  have  progressed  to  31  free  and  independent 
sovereignties.  With  a territory,  extending  from  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Pacific,  and  exhaustless  in  all  the  rich  resources 
which  can  add  to  the  wealth  or  happiness  of  a nation, 
we  have  a population  whose  rapidly  increasing  numbers 
exceed  the  calculations  of  Malthus,  or  the  most  sanguine  of 
his  disciples.  Time  and  distance  have  been  annihilated  b}' 
the  applications  of  science.  “Young  as  I am,”  said  a dis- 
tinguished Senator  from  Illinois,  in  a speech  delivered  a few 
months  ago,  “I  have  seen  the  time  when  I congratulated 
myself  upon  making  a very  quick  trip,  if  I could  go  from 
Washington  to  my  residence  in  three  weeks,  and  now  I la- 
ment my  misfortune  if  it  takes  me  four  days  to  accomplish 
the  same  journey.”  Boston,  through  the  means  of  the  tele- 
graph, is  in  speaking  distance  of  New  Orleans,  and  ere  another 
year  rolls  around,  Washington  and  San  Francisco  will  be 
connected  by  the  same  magic  link.  More  than  this,  it  has 
lately  been  announced  through  the  columns  of  the  press,  that 
the  great  public  will  soon  have  an  opportunity  of  taking  an 
aerial  trip  from  New  York  to  California,  and,  in  the  city 
from  which  I come,  there  is  now  in  the  course  of  erection, 
the  machine  which,  it  is  said,  is  to  perform  this  almost  miracu- 
lous journey.  So  that  in  a year  hence  you  will  be  able  on 
one  day  to  inform  your  friend  in  San  Francisco  of  your  in- 
tention to  visit  him,  and  on  the  next  you  will  arrive  safe  and 
sound,  after  an  aerial  passage  of  a few  hours  from  Washing- 
ton or  N e w Y ork ! 

It  is  no  wonder,  in  view  of  these  mighty  triumphs  of  man’s 
genius  and  intellect,  that  our  vanity  should  suggest  “ nil  ad- 
mirari  ” for  our  motto,  and  that  some  of  the  more  sanguine 
of  our  countrymen,  should  cherish  the  hope  of  being  able,  at 
no  very  distant  day,  to  communicate,  by  some  yet  undis- 
covered means,  with  “ the  man  in  the  moon  !”  Whether, 


8 


however,  this,  or  some  of  the  other  feats  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  shall  be  accomplished,  it  must  certainly  be  admitted, 
that  science,  in  its  application  to  the  comforts  and  convenien- 
ces of  life,  has  been  eminently  progressive. 

With  this  admission,  we  turn  aside  from  the  beaten  track 
of  our  festival  orators,  whose  eloquence  hut  too  often  con- 
sists of  fulsome  panegyries  upon  our  country  and  its  institu- 
tions. Nor  will  it  be  considered  unpatriotic  in  dissenting 
from  this  wholesale  adulation.  Philip  of  Macedon,  it  is  said, 
ordered  one  of  his  attendants  to  repeat  to  him  daily,  “ Re- 
member, Philip,  thou  art  a man.”  Posterity  has  approved  the 
wisdom  of  the  Macedonian  King,  and  we  may  profit  by  his 
example.  While  flushed  and  elated  by  our  prosperity  it  may 
be  wise  that,  now  and  then,  a voice,  however  humble,  should 
be  heard,  repeating  the  sad  “ Ilium  fuit ” which  serves  as  the 
brief  epitaph  of  nations,  once  as  great  and  as  powerful  as  we 
are  now. 

Admitting,  then,  the  advancement  of  knowledge  and  science, 
and  the  increase  of  wealth,  power  and  territory,  we  may  first 
stop  to  ask,  in  what  consists  this  progress  of  religious  ideas, 
which,  we  are  told,  so  distinguishes  the  civilization  of  the 
nineteenth  century  ? An  important  inquiry  indeed  ! F or  if 
it  be  true,  that  Christianity  is  the  sheet  anchor  which  is  to 
save  us  from  the  fate  of  the  republics  of  antiquity,  who  knew 
not  its  holy  influence,  then,  indeed,  should  we  be  careful  in 
guarding  this  citadel  of  our  safety  from  the  slightest  approach 
of  danger. 

The  investigation,  we  fear,  will  result  in  the  conviction 
that  Christianity — true  Christianity — has  paled  its  light  before 
the  advance  of  civilization.  In  our  own  country,  infidelity 
stalks  abroad  through  our  land  with  as  much  effrontery  as 
it  did  in  the  days  of  Pagan  Greece  and  Rome.  An  inter- 
course with  the  world  affords  daily  evidences  of  this  melan- 
choly fact.  If  further  proofs  be  needed,  we  have  but  to  turn 
our  eyes  to  the  New  England  States,  and  see  there,  with 


9 


what  wonderful  rapidity  our  Northern  brethren  are  falling 
off  from  the  simple,  but  austere  faith  of  their  Puritan  fathers. 
From  Unitarianism — just  beyond  the  borders  of  Christianity 
— down  to  the  recent  creed  established  by  the  “Spiritual 
Rappers” — all  have  their  believers  and  followers.  As  the 
doctrines  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  in  the  hands  of  their  un- 
worthy disciples,  degenerated  into  mysticism  and  pantheism, 
so  has  the  creed  of  Christianity  been  improved  and  theorized 
by  the  advocates  of  religious  progress,  into  unbelief  and  in- 
fidelity. Long  ago  it  was  said  by  one  of  the  Puritan  fathers, 
who  foresaw  the  degeneracy  of  his  decendants,  that  “ if  the 
Devil  came  visibly  amongst  many  and  held  out  indepen- 
dency and  liberty  of  conscience,  and  should  teach  that  there 
were  no  devils,  no  hell,  no  sin  at  all,  but  that  these  were 
only  men’s  imaginations — he  would  be  cried  up,  followed 
and  admired.”  It  is  under  this  plea  of  “independency  and 
liberty  of  conscience”  that  men  have  run  into  these  wild  ex- 
tremes of  error,  so  startling  in  their  effects  upon  religion,  so- 
ciety and  government.  From  this  source,  has  grown  up  that 
most  fearful  of  all  doctrines  ever  announced  in  a republican 
country : I allude  to  the  doctrine  promulgated  by  a distin- 
guished Senator  of  the  United  States,  and  known  as  “ the 
higher  law”  The  one  is  the  natural  offspring  of  the  other. 
That  same  process  of  enlightened  reason,  which  when  applied 
to  Religion,  leads  a man  into  the  mazes  of  infidelity,  guides 
him  with  unerring  certainty  into  treason  against  his  country 
and  its  constitution.  Let  us  not  attribute  this  fearful  state 
of  feeling  to  the  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  the  people. 
The  flame  has  been  fanned  by  the  teachings  of  our  politico 
religious  preachers,  who  have  ever  been  the  curse  and 
disgrace  of  this  country.  They  have  left  their  impress  upon 
the  blackened  walls  of  the  Charlestown  Convent,  and  the 
demoniac  shouts,  which  greeted  the  sacred  emblem  of  man’s 
salvation,  as  it  fell  amid  the  burning  ruins  of  the  Church  of 
St.  Augustine,  were  but  an  echo  to  the  incendiary  appeals 
made,  for  months  before,  in  various  pulpits  of  Philadelphia. 


10 


Under  such  influences,  we  have  seen  the  parricidal  blow 
aimed  against  the  institutions  of  our  country.  When  the 
“Compromise,”  that  noble  monument  of  the  exalted  patriot- 
ism of  those  who  framed  it,  was  passed  by  Congress,  these 
men  were  found  in  the  front  ranks  of  its  fiercest  opponents. 
Submitting  the  law  to  their  own  private  judgment,  they  pro- 
claimed to  the  people  that  it  was  unjust  and  iniquitous — that 
“the  F ugitive  Slave  Law  was  the  work  of  hell,  and  that  there 
was  a law  higher  than  any  that  could  be  passed  by  Con- 
gress and  the  Executive.”  Sedition  was  openly  preached 
from  the  pulpit,  justified  on  scriptural  grounds,  and  a blessed 
immortality  was  promised  to  those  who  died  in  their  traitor- 
ous efforts  to  overturn  the  institutions  of  their  country  A 
response  was  soon  heard  from  those  to  whom  these  abomi- 
nable doctrines  were  addressed.  Meetings  were  held,  and 
associations  formed,  for  the  purpose  of  “purifying  the  churches 
from  all  participation  in  the  guilt  of  slavery,”  and  in  laying 
down  their  “platform  of  principles,”  they  say,  “the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  is  a bill  of  abominations,  and  its  authors,  advo- 
cates and  enforcers  deserve  the  severest  condemnation,  while 
the  act  itself,  should  every  where  be  condemned  and  exe- 
crated.” With  such  sentiments,  diffused  amongst  a people, 
unrestrained  by  any  of  the  influences  of  the  Christian  Re- 
ligion, can  we  wonder  that  the  life-blood  of  the  master  has 
flown  in  his  efforts  to  recover  his  slave,  and  that  the  whole 
authority  of  the  United  States  has  been  called  into  requi- 
sition, for  the  execution  of  a law  thus  opposed  and  thus  de- 
nounced ? 

Such  are  some  of  the  effects  of  this  expansion  of  human 
thought,  “which  the  liberalism  of  the  day  holds  up  to  our 
admiration,  as  proof  of  the  “progress  of  the  age.  ” No  greater 
prostitution  of  the  word  could  he  made.  It  is  progress,  but 
it  is  progress  from  Christianity  to  infidelity.  It  is  a change 
from  the  pure  patriotism  of  our  forefathers,  to  the  wild  anar- 
chy of  the  French  Republicans,  who,  under  the  guidance  of 


11 


“enlightened  reason,”  destroyed  religion,  morals,  and  society. 
I intend,  not  here,  to  suggest  the  remedy  for  evils  so  fearful, 
but  it  may  be  w ell  for  us  to  hearken  to  the  warning  voice  of 
the  “Father  of  his  Country,”  and  to  ponder  well  the  sage 
advice  contained  in  that  rich  legacy  of  a patriot’s  love  which 
European  testimony  has  pronounced,  “ the  greatest  produc- 
tion that  ever  emanated  from  uninspired  pen.”  Amongst  the 
paternal  admonitions,  contained  in  the  Farewell  Address  of 
Washington,  is  one,  which  tells  us,  that  “religion  is  one  of  the 
most  indispensible  supports  to  political  prosperity.”  “ In 
vain,”  says  he,  “would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  patriot- 
ism, who  should  labor  to  subvert  these  pillars  of  human  hap- 
piness— these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens. 
Whatever  maybe  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  edu- 
cation upon  minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  experi- 
ence, both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  morality  can 
prevail  to  the  exclusion  of  the  principles  of  religion.” 

Next  to  religion,  the  highest  moral  institution  on  earth  is 
that  of  government;  and,  here  again,  we  may  well  hesitate 
before  yielding  our  assent  to  the  doctrines  and  theories  which 
have  been  developed  by  the  “progress  of  the  age.”  The 
locomotive  speed,  with  which  our  ideas  have  progressed  with- 
in the  past  few  years,  puts  to  shame  the  stage-coach  pace  of 
the  men  of  the  past.  It  was  the  fancy  of  the  poet  that  sug- 
gested the  lines  : 

“No  pent  up  utica  contracts  our  powers. 

The  whole  boundless  continent  is  ours,” 

But  we  have  realized  the  thought,  and  expanding  the 
the  idea  of  the  poet,  proclaim  : 

No  pent  up  ,f continent ” contracts  our  powers. 

The  whole  boundless  “ universe ” is  ours! 

Satisfied,  ourselves,  that  we  are  the  “greatest  people  on  the 
face  of  the  earth”  we  offer  the  blessings  of  our  republican 
institutions,  as  a sovereign  cure,  for  all  the  evils  under  which 
humanity  labors.  Nothing  but  a judgment,  blinded  by  na- 


12 


tional  vanity,  could  suggest  so  absurd  a policy,  and  nothing 
but  that  madness,  which,  we  are  told,  the  gods  first  inflict 
upon  those  whom  they  wish  to  destroy,  will  ever  induce  us 
to  attempt  its  enforcement.  The  boldness,  however,  with 
which  it  is  advocated,  demands  from  our  hands  a passing 
notice. 

Macauley,  in  one  of  his  political  essays,  quaintly  remarks: 
“A  good  government,  like  a good  coat,  is  that  which  fits  the 
body  for  which  it  is  designed.”  Experience  has  proved  the 
truth  of  the  observation.  In  1790,  the  French  nation  tried 
on  the  republican  coat,  and  they  found  it  the  tightest  straight- 
jacket  that  ever  confined  the  limbs  of  a maniac,  and  so  it 
continued,  until  the  tailor  of  Corsica  fashioned  it  into  an  ab- 
solute monarchy,  and  the  Frenchmen  acknowledge  the  fit, 
by  yielding  implicit  obedience  to  his  authority.  The  same 
experiment  was  tried  upon  the  Spanish  American  people, 
and  the  scenes  of  anarchy  and  confusion  which  have  been 
enacted  there,  during  the  past  twenty-five  years,  tell,  with 
fearful  truth,  of  their  unfitness  for  the  institutions  under  which 
they  live. 

But  a more  comprehensive  policy  still,  will  be  found  in  the 
next  chapter  of  this  book  of  Progress.  It  has  been  gravely 
suggested,  that  this  same  republican  coat  should  be  tried  on 
the  limbs  of  all  the  old  worn  out  and  effete  monarchies  of 
Europe,  and  political  soothsayers  were  not  wanting  to  pre- 
dict that  the  hearts  of  the  “ peoples  of  the  continent”  were 
prepared  for  the  change.  A mighty  convulsion  shook  Eu- 
rope to  its  centre — thrones  trembled  and  monarchs  quaked 
under  the  indignant  frown  of  suffering  humanity,  while,  from 
across  the  ocean,  came  the  glad  tidings  that  the  foundation 
stones  of  republican  liberty  had  been  laid  upon  the  prostrate 
thrones  of  departed  royalty.  France  was  welcomed  with 
shouts  of  joy  into  the  family  of  republics,  and  our  minister 
was  sent  abroad,  with  a kind  of  roving  commission,  to  exchange 
congratulations  with  the  next  nation  that  should  follow  her 


13 


example.  How  splendid  the  promise — how  poor  the  per- 
formance! Constitutional  monarchy  has  disappeared  from  the 
continent,  and  four  millions  of  the  ‘‘  thinking  bayonets  ” of 
Europe  are  now  arrayed  on  the  side  of  absolutism.  In 
France  eight  millions  of  freemen  voted  away  their  liberty,  and 
with  a base  and  humiliating  acknowledgment  of  their  unwor- 
thiness to  enjoy  the  boon  of  freedom,  which  fortune  had 
thrown  into  their  hands,  surrendered  to  one  man  the  power 
of  re-modelling  and  re-constructiug  their  form  of  go\ernment. 
Louis  Napoleon  has  executed  the  trust  with  a strong  hand, 
and,  under  the  title  of  President,  wields  the  power  of  a des- 
pot. In  the  meanwhile,  the  liberty-loving  citizens  of  France 
submit  quietly,  if  not  cheerfully,  to  his  usurpations,  and  hail 
the  nephew,  as  they  did  the  uncle,  “ the  savior  of  his  coun- 
try ! ” 

What  is  true  of  France  may  be  said  of  each  of  the  other 
states  of  the  continent.  In  all  of  them  we  find  a tame  and 
willing  obedience  to  the  despotism,  which  has  grown  up 
from  the  seed  planted  by  the  hands  of  the  reckless  leaders, 
under  whose  auspices  the  late  revolutionary  movement  was 
conducted. 

Such  is  the  condition  of  the  people  whom  we  were  anx- 
ious to  welcome  into  the  family  of  republicans.  How  grand 
and  noble  does  the  wisdom  of  our  forefathers  appear  when 
contrasted  with  the  folly  of  these  chemerical  pretensions  of 
modern  progress  ! One  lesson,  however,  we  may  learn  from 
the  failure  of  republicanism  in  Europe,  and  that  is,  that  if 
the  people  of  those  states  ever  rid  themselves  of  the  institu- 
tions under  which  they  have  lived  for  ages,  and  which  have 
become  part  of  their  social  and  political  existence,  it  will 
not  be  done  by  the  speculative  teachings  of  the  men  who 
have  undone  by  their  radicalism,  the  cause  of  liberty  in  Eu- 
rope. These  so  called  “ patriots  ” are  omnipotent  to  de- 
stroy, but  powerless  to  build  up.  Carried  away  by  their 
abstract  ideas  of  “ liberty  and  equality,”  they  found  their 


14 


theories  of  government  on  fancy , and  not  upon  experience. 
Such  reformers  never  have,  never  will  succeed.  The  peo- 
ple— the  masses — must  take  the  lead.  As  has  been  justly 
observed,  “one  man  cannot  govern  an  unwilling  nation. 
When  a whole  people  become  fully  impressed  with  the  con- 
viction that  free  institutions  will  enure  to  their  happiness — • 
they  will  become  free,  and  when  they  come  fully  to  under- 
stand and  appreciate  those  institutions,  they  will  establish 
them  firmly  and  make  them  enduring.” 

But  it  has  been  said,  and  by  high  authority,  too,  that 
“America  has  a mission  to  perform  in  the  development  and 
advancement  of  human  rights  throughout  the  world  ” This 
is  the  text,  upon  .which  an  eloquent,  but  ungrateful  exile 
has  preached  his  five  hundred  sermons  for  the  edification 
and  enlightenment  of  the  statesmen  of  our  country.  Stand- 
ing upon  this  platform,  the  cunning  Hungarian  has  made  his 
insidious  appeals  to  Yankee  vanity,  and  while  dazzling  us 
by  the  sublimity  of  his  metaphors,  has  endeavored  to  fasten 
upon  the  policy  of  our  government,  his  peculiar  doctrine  of 
“ Intel  vention  for  the  sake  of  Non-Intervention .”  Coming 
to  our  shore,  with  the  prestige  not  only  of  an  exiled  patriot, 
but  also  with  that  of  u a good  hater”  of  the  Jesuits,  it  was 
not  surprising  that  his  stirring  eloquence  found  a responsive 
echo  in  the  breast  of  those,  particularly,  who  hate  the  Jesuits 
as  much,  or  more,  than  they  love  their  country.  While  the 
people  everywhere  greeted  him  with  tumultuous  joy — as 
fickle  as  it  was  noisy — the  politico-religious  teachers  came 
forth  from  their  retirement,  and,  with  sacrilegious  adulation, 
proclaimed  him  11  the  second  Saviour .”  Kossuth’s  eye,  how- 
ever, was  fixed  upon  the  Capitol,  where  sat  those  who  were 
to  give  form  and  substance  to  the  hollow  shouts  of  the  gap- 
ing multitude.  Thither  he  advanced,  with  his  splendid  reti- 
nue, while  behind  him  were  left  hotel  bills  of  such  enormous 
lengths,  as  startled  even  our  progressive  ideas  of  republican 
simplicity  and  economy ! 


15 


It  was  at  the  seat  of  government  he  received  the  first 
check  to  his  vain  ambition.  That  Banquo’s  ghost  which 
had  haunted  his  imagination,  from  the  time  he  first  perused 
the  “ Life  of  Washington,”  now  “seared  his  eye  halls”  and 
blasted  his  hopes  of  success.  And  when,  in  his  interview 
with  our  chief  Executive,  the  shade  of  Washington  was  in- 
voked to  place  the  mark  of  condemnation  upon  the  cherished 
scheme  of  his  ambition,  he  might  well  have  exclaimed  in  lan- 
guage similar  to  that  addressed  by  the  guilty  Macbeth  to  the 
spirit  of  the  murdered  King:  “ Thou  art  too  much  like  the 
spirit  of  Washington  ; down.”  Finding,  however,  that  the 
spirit  would  not  “ down  at  his  bidding,”  he  turned  away 
soured  and  disappointed,  muttering  his  threats  of  appealing 
from  t:  e President  to  the  people. 

Kossuth,  however,  is  a man  not  easily  moved  from  his 
purpose.  There  was  then  in  Washington  one  individual 
whose  approving  voice  would  more  than  have  compensated 
him  for  the  slights  previously  received  from  Congress  and  the 
Executive.  To  him  he  applied  ; and  when  the  noble  “ sage 
of  Ashland” — whose  loss  a nation  now  mourns — with  his 
^‘dying  breath,”  denounced  his  policy,  the  last  ray  of  hope 
fled  from  Kossuth’s  bosom,  and  since  then  he  has  been 
fighting  against  despair. 

But  though  the  efforts  of  this  political  missionary  have,  in 
a measure,  failed,  yet  it  can  neither  be  denied  nor  concealed^ 
that  his  battery  of  five  hundred  speeches  has  made  some  im- 
pression upon  the  citadel  of  our  political  faith.  The  attack 
has  been  conducted  by  a master  hand,  and  by  one  who  had 
carefully  studied  the  weak  points  of  the  enemy,  against 
whom  his  fire  was  to  be  directed  With  the  seductive  ton- 
gue of  the  serpent  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  he  tells  us, 
that  we  are  now  “ a power  on  earth,”  and  the  meaning  of 
this  is,  he  says,  that  “ we  have  not  only  the  power  to  guard 
our  own  particular  interests,  but  also  to  have  a vote  in  the 
regulation  of  the  common  interests  of  humanity,  of  which  we 


16 


are  an  independent  member.”  In  response  to  this  insidu- 
ous  appeal,  we  hear  it  proclaimed  in  the  Halls  of  Congress, 
and  from  the  pulpit,  and  the  stump,  that  the  “ progress  of 
our  country  requires  that  we  should  establish  a foreign 
policy,”  and  that  “ it  is  time  that  we  should  begin  to  feel 
an  interest  in  the*  decision  of  the  great  questions  which 
effect  the  rights  of  man  throughout  the  world.” 

So  thought  Rome,  when,  in  the  day  of  her  pride  and 
prosperity,  she  claimed  a similar  right  of  extending  to  other 
nations  the  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship.  Maintaining 
her  arrogant  pretensions  by  the  sword,  she  extended  her  con- 
quests far  and  wide,  until  Greece  and  all  Italy  bent  submis- 
sive to  the  yoke  of  her  power.  But  dearly  did  her  “foreign 
policy”  cost  her.  The  Roman  soldier,  enervated  and  con- 
taminated by  an  intercourse  with  the  vices  and  luxuries  of 
the  nations,  whom  his  valor  had  subdued,  became  an  easy 
prey  to  the  tyrants  and  usurpers,  who  finally  accomplished 
the  ruin  of  the  “ once  proud  mistress  of  the  world.” 

Impressed,  no  doubt,  by  the  salutary  lesson  to  be  derived 
from  the  fate  of  Rome,  the  fathers  of  our  republic  have 
warned  us  of  the  danger  of  entangling  ourselves  by  alliances 
or  otherwise  with  foreign  states.  The  good  old  chart  which 
they  have  laid  down  for  us,  was  marked  out  at  a time  when 
the  most  tempting  offers  were  made  to  engage  us  in  the 
troubles  and  difficulties  which  agitated  our  brethren  across 
the  waters.  So  far  has  it  guided  our  ship  of  state  in  safety, 
and  the  events  of  the  past  two  years  have  but  confirmed  and 
established  its  correctness. 

We  all  remember  the  crusade  which  was  preached  in  this 
country  “for  the  redemption  and  regeneration  of  the  enslaved 
millions  of  Europe.”  England  was  proposed  as  our  ally  in 
the  good  work,  and  a forgiveness  of  past  sins  was  urged  by 
those  in  favor  of  this  “holy  alliance.”  The  tone  of  feeling, 
towards  the  mother  country  was  gradually  changing,  and 
American  blarney  was  substituted  for  a time  for  the  lan- 


17 


guage  of  denunciation  and  abuse  which  we  were  wont  to  in- 
dulge in  with  regard  to  “ the  tyrant  of  ’76.  Almost  beneath 
the  throne  of  the  English  Queen,  an  eminent  American 
statesman  was  heard  exhausting  the  vocabulary  of  flattery, 
in  praise  of  British  institutions,  and  in  a wild  flight  of  fancy 
proclaiming  England  “ the  breakwater  of  despotism  m Eu- 
rope!” Never  was  compliment  paid  at  greater  expense  of 
truth.  Where  is  there  an  instance,  in  her  whole  history,  in 
which  England  has  shown  any  real  or  sincere  sympathy  with 
man  in  his  struggles  for  constitutional  freedom  ? The  ex- 
posures which  have  recently  been  made  of  her  continental 
policy  through  the  letters  of  the  eloquent  and  gifted  Dr.  Ca- 
hill, have  laid  bare  the  falsehoods  and  treachery  concealed 
beneath  that,  title  worn,  but  never  won  by  her — the  friend  of 
constitutional  liberty.  Was  she  sincere  in  the  honors  which 
she  paid  to  Kossuth?  No!  for  while  she  stood  with  her 
arms  extended  to  bind  the  laurel  around  his  brow,  her  iron 
hoof  was  resting  upon  the  necks  of  the  Irish  patriots,  and 
mingled  with  the  hoarse  shouts  of  welcome,  which  greeted 
the  arrival  of  the  exiled  Hungarian,  might  be  heard,  across 
the  channel,  the  cries  and  groans  of  thousands,  whom  Eng- 
lish tyranny  and  English  oppression  were  driving,  wander- 
ing exiles,  from  the  land  of  their  birth. 

But  what  is  England’s  present  position,  and  where  now 
is  the  “breakwater,”  which  was  to  resist  the  rushing  tide  of 
European  despotism  ? Prompted  by  her  sordid  interests, 
and  not  by  her  inclinations,  in  her  advocacy  of  the  cause  of 
liberty,  she  was  prepared  to  accommodate  herself  to  any 
change  which  might  take  place  in  the  affairs  of  the  continent. 
Hence  we  find  her  now  bending  and  cringing  to  those,  whom, 
but  a short  while  ago,  it  was  her  policy  to  abuse  and  des- 
pise. As  an  evidence  of  the  sincerity  of  her  repentance,  she 
yields  in  humble  compliance  to  the  remonstrances  of  France 
and  Austria,  and  narrows  the  circle  of  the  liberties  which 
she  had  conceded  to  European  exiles,  and  among  the  first 


18 


acts  of  the  new  ministry,  was  one  withdrawing  the  bill  which 
extended  the  electoral  franchises  of  British  subjects.  So 
stands  England  after  the  political  storms,  which,,  with  her 
assistance,  were  raised  in  the  different  states  of  the  conti- 
nent ; and  so  ends  the  chapter  of  English  sympathy  in  favor 
of  constitutional  liberty. 

While  England,  by  her  concessions  and  apologies,  has  pur- 
chased her  peace,  and  with  it,  the  contempt  of  the  nations 
from  whom  she  obtained  it,  America,  unable,  and  as  unwill- 
ing as  unable,  to  recede  from  her  position,  is  looked  upon 
with  intense  hatred,  by  all  the  powers  of  Europe.  Where 
before  the  American  traveller  was  received  with  open  arms, 
he  is  now  met  by  coldness  and  distrust.  “Self  preser- 
vation,” say  the  monarchists  of  Europe,  “which  required  the 
expulsion  of  rebels  and  revolutionists  from  our  midst,  de- 
mands that  we  should  be  cautious  in  our  reception  of  those 
who  not  only  offer  our  enemies  a home,  but  encourage  them 
on  to  renew  the  attempt  at  our  destruction.”  Hence  it  is, 
that  an  American  on  the  continent,  is  now  regarded  either 
as  an  open  enemy  or  a secret  spy.  But  this  is  not  all ; our 
country  is  now  infested  by  crowds  of  European  revolution- 
ists— these  weeds  torn  up  from  the  gardens  of  monarchy, 
and  thrown  with  dangerous  profusion  upon  our  shores.  Ar- 
riving in  our  midst,  they  but  exchange  the  field  of  their 
labors,  for  what  their  philosophy  calls-,  “the  social  and  po- 
litical regeneration  of  man.”  That  philosophy,  founded  on 
irreligion  and  infidelity,  regards  no  more  the  legality  of  our 
institutions,  than  it  did  those  of  the  monarchies  of  Europe. 
Already  it  has  been  announced  by  some  of  these  champions 
of  reform,  that  our  government  is  founded  on  wrong  princi- 
ciples — that  it  does  not  secure  to  man  “liberty  and  equality” 
— and  that,  therefore,  it  should  either  be  remodled  or  de- 
stroyed altogether.  Such  doctrines  have  already  deluged  Eu- 
rope in  blood  ; let  America  beware,  lest  their  advocates  here, 
by  taking  the  lead  in  this  so-called  work  of  reform,  should 


19 

produce  the  same  disastrous  results  in  this  asylum  to  which 
they  have  been  invited. 

Other  doctrines,  as  dangerous  in  their  effects  as  those  al- 
ready alluded  to,  have  been  proposed  by  the  advocates  of 
modern  progress,  for  “ the  advancement  of  the  science  of 
government.”  We  fear  the  tendency  of  them  all.  The 
science  of  government  is  an  experimental  one,  and  we  look 
in  vain,  during  the  lapse  of  the  last  half  century,  for  evidence 
of  any  true,  real  progress,  wffiich  would  lay  the  basis  for  re- 
form in  our  government.  Have  the  morals  of  our  people, 
become  more  pure  and  refined  ? Is  obedience  to  Jaw,  more 
cheerful  and  universal,  and,  above  all,  is  that  ark  of  our 
safety — the  Constitution — more  reverenced  now,  than  it  was 
by  the  men  of  the  past  ? Has  the  administration  of  our  gov- 
ernment fallen  into  the  hands  of  a superior  race  of  beings, 
and  are  the  “ corruptions  in  high  places,”  which  sometimes 
occur,  only  admonitions  sent  from  Heaven  to  remind  them 
of  their  frailty  and  mortality  ? Is  party  spirit  less  rancorous, 
and  do  the  spoils  of  office  attract  less  of  the  attention  of 
politicians  now,  than  formerly?  Are  our  legislators  an 
enlarged  and  improved  edition  of  the  noble  set  of  American 
representatives,  who  once  assembled  in  Philadelphia,  or  is 
there  more  of  disinterested  patriotism,  more  of  wisdom, 
more  of  gentility  of  manners,  in  the  present  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, than  could  be  found  amongst  our  political  fathers,  wrho 
held  their  deliberations  in  the  days  when  “constructive  mile- 
age” was  unknown,  and  pugilistic  feats  had  not  yet  been 
introduced  upon  the  floors  of  Congress?  We  wait  an  affir- 
mative reply  to  these  questions,  before  yielding  our  assent  to 
any  material  changes  in  our  form  of  government.  It  is  the 
theory  of  Montesquieu,  that  “republics  are  founded  on  vir- 
tue,” and  if  we  have  improved  the  material  upon  which  the 
architects  of  our  revolutionary  period  have  erected  this  fa- 
bric of  government,  then  may  we  commence  to  tear  down 
their  work  and  prepare  for  the  erection  of  other  institu- 


20 


tions,  more  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and 
more  in  keeping  with  the  quality  of  the  foundation,  upon 
which  they  are  to  he  erected.  But  until  then,  we  would 
say  to  these  votaries  of  progress,  u Procul  estiprofani ” — 
touch  not  a single  stone  in  that  noble  edifice,  erected  by 
men,  the  purity  of  whose  patriotism,  and  the  depth  of  whose 
wisdom,  attracted  the  admiration  of  the  world.  It  was 
reared  for  themselves  and  their  posterity.  Woe  he  to  us,  if 
faithless  to  our  trust,  we  listen  to  the  syren  voice  of  Eu- 
ropean radicalism,  and  in  our  attempts  to  reform  and  remodel 
our  institutions,  “should  filch  from  posterity  the  treasure 
placed  in  our  hands,  to  be  transmitted  to  other  generations  !” 

Time,  and  a just  regard  to  your  patience,  will  not  permit 
even  a passing  allusion  to  the  various  plans  developed  by  the 
progress  of  the  age,  for  (wLat  is  termed)  “ the  amelioration 
of  man’s  social  condition.”  Society  appears  to  be  in  a fer- 
ment, and  everywhere  we  find  a feverish  desire  to  change 
the  present  condition  of  things  for  something  that  is  better, 
or  that  is  supposed  to  be  better.  “The  people’s  rights,  the 
laborer’s  rights,  woman’s  rights,  and  everybody’s  rights  and 
everybody’s  wrongs,” — the  manner  of  curing  society  of  all 
the  evils  that  flesh  is  heir  to,  and  how  to  secure  the  greatest 
happiness,  not  to  the  greatest  number,  but  to  “ all  the  wrorld 
and  the  rest  of  mankind ;”  these  are  the  subjects  which  are 
now  agitating  to  a most  dangerous  ext6nt,  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  this  country!  No  man  can  mistake  the  paternity 
of  these  visionary  theories  of  universal  happiness.  They  are 
European  born,  and  aim  at  nothing  less  than  the  total  de- 
struction of  our  present  social  organization. 

Enough,  we  are  sure,  has  been  said  to  convince  every 
thinking  mind,  that  our  country  has  much  to  fear  from  these 
wild  and  destructive  theories  of  social  and  political  reform, 
which,  of  late,  have  become  so  popular  and  fashionable. 
Horace  in  his  ode,  “ ad  Rempublicam,”  exclaims  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  poet,  and  with  the  affection  of  a patriot : 


21 

“O  Navis  referent  in  mare  te  novi 

Fluctus !” 

In  the  same  spirit  should  we  cry  out  against  these  “ new 
waves”  of  doctrines,  which  threaten  the  safety  of  our  noble 
vessel  of  state.  Its  preservation  is  entrusted  to  each  and 
every  one  of  us.  It  was  the  proud  boast  of  Cicero,  that,  to 
him,  had  been  confided  the  high  office  of  “ taking  care  that 
the  Republic  should  receive  no  detriment” — “ne  quid  res- 
publica  detrimejiti  caperet .”  The  genius  of  our  institutions, 
bestows  upon  each  one  of  her  citizens  the  same  high  com 
mission,  while  the  object  of  our  care  is  as  far  above  that 
which  exercised  the  sleepless  vigilance  of  Cicero,  as  Christi- 
anity is  to  Paganism,  or  civilization  to  semi-barbarism. 
Never  has  there  been  consigned  to  a nation  more  holy  and 
important  trusts,  than  those  which  belong  to  the  American 
people.  Cast  your  eyes  back  over  the  history  of  the  past, 
and  trace  the  onward  course  of  civilization,  as  it  advances 
from  the  far  distant  East,  ever  onward  and  westward,  until 
it  spread  its  genial  light  over  our  own  continent  In  the 
Iliad,  Homer  speaks  of  Greece,  as  the  West,  beyond  which 
was  the  great  terra  incognita.  Soon  Italy  beams  upon  the 
eye  of  the  exiled  Trojan,  and  thither  he  repairs  to  find  an 
asylum  from  the  wars  of  the  Eastern  world.  Spain  and 
Gaul  next  figure  as  the  terra  occidentals  of  the  Romans, 
and  so  they  continued  until  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  rose 
up  from  their  obscurity,  and  stood  between  them  and  the 
ocean.  Here,  for  a while,  the  flight  of  civilization  seems  to 
have  halted  in  its  westward  course,  as  if  to  gain  strength  for 
the  rapid  spread  which  it  afterwards  made  over  the  western 
world  In  the  Arneid,  the  West  is  described  as  ever  reced- 
ing before  the  eyes  of  the  wearied 'followers  of  Arneas: 

Oras  Hesperiae  semper  fugientis. 

With  how  much  propriety  may  the  expression  be  applied  to 
the  settlement  of  our  own  happy  country  ! Some  who  now 
hear  me,  remember  when  a portion  of  New  York  was  the 


22 


West,  and  so  it  was  called  until  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  other 
states  rose  up  beyond  her,  and  gained  the  title  to  the  appel- 
lation. Farther  on,  Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  are 
seen  to  emerge  from  the  forests,  and  now  “the  star  of  Em- 
pire” rests  upon  the  borders  of  the  sandy  deserts  of  Texas 
and  New  Mexico.  But  the  decree  has  gone  forth,  that 
westward  still  it  must  “ take  its  flight,”  and  soon  we  find  it 
bursting  over  these  barren  plains,  and  setting  in  more  than 
pristine  beauty  and  magnificence  upon  the  distant  shores  of 
the  Western  Ocean.  The  Hesperia  of  the  Arneid  now  rest 
over  the  golden  sands  of  California.  But  will  it  stop  there? 
Already  it  seems  to  beckon  us  on  to  that  great  and  mystical 
land,  whose  trade  has  enriched  every  nation  that  has  enjoyed 
its  harvest.  We  are  prepared  to  follow,  and  ere  long  China 
and  India  will  feel  the  advancing  tide  of  civilization,  and  be 
re-vivified  by  its  power.  How  intensely  interesting  is  the 
thought,  which  the  imagination  pictures  to  our  mind,  when 
raising  the  curtain  of  the  future,  we  contemplate  China  civi- 
lized and  Christianized  through  the  agency  of  American  en- 
terprize  ! Napoleon  declared  it  to  be  “the  true  battle- 
ground upon  which  the  struggle  for  Eur  >pean  supremacy  was 
to  be  fought,  and  had  his  ambitious  plans  been  accomplished, 
he  would  have  made  it  such  during  his  life  time.  Under  him, 
however,  the  struggle  wTould  have  been  one  of  blood,  of  strife 
and  of  conquest ; while  with  us,  it  will  be  the  struggle  of 
Christian  civilization,  against  ignorance,  barbarism  and 
superstition.  There,  where  began  the  original  dispersion  of 
the  human  race,  and  where  commenced  the  long  chequered 
history  of  the  misery  and  happiness,  the  degradation  and 
civilization  of  man,  tne  closing  scene  of  the  grand  drama  will 
be  consummated. 

Other  scenes  of  equal  grandeur  display  themselves  to  our 
view,  in  the  contemplation  of  the  future.  In  the  fervid  and 
eloquent  language  of  the  elder  Adams,  “ a prospect  into  fu- 
turity in  America  is  like  contemplating  the  Heavens  through 


the  telescope  of  Herschel,  objects— stupendous  in  their  magni- 
tude and  motions,  strike  us  from  all  quarters,  and  fill  us  with 
amazement. 

If  such,  gentlemen,  be  the  destiny  in  reserve  for  our 
country,  how  important  is  it,  that  we  should  be  fully  im- 
pressed with  a sense  of  the  heavy  obligations  resting  upon 
each  one  of  us  individually  ? Upon  the  great  theatre  of  life, 
all,  however  various  their  capacities,  have  their  parts  as- 
signed them  in  the  great  task  of  human  improvement.  F or 
you,  the  time  will  shortly  arrive,  when  the  thousand  endear- 
ments of  this  scholastic  existence  will  be  changed  for  the 
pursuits  of  worldly  business.  Animated  with  the  spirit,  and 
imbuded  with  the  learning  of  your  Alma  Mater,  you  will  go 
forth  bearing  from  her  portals  the  signet  of  her  honors. 
Forget  not  your  accountability  to  her  for  the  manner  in 
which  you  employ  the  many  advantages  you  have  received 
from  her  hands.  My  humble  effort  has  been  to  point  to  you, 
in  advance,  some  of  the  dangers  which  seems  to  threaten  the 
safety  of  our  republic.  Yours,  then,  be  the  task  to  see  that 
it  “ receives  no  detriment.”  From  the  history  of  the  past, 
as  well  as  from  the  classic  pages  of  the  ancient  authors,  you 
may  learn  lessons  of  wisdom  worthy  of  your  most  serious 
study  and  contemplation.  Athens  from  the  midst  of  her 
ruins  speaks  to  us  in  the  words  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
of  her  citizens:  “Accustom  your  mind,”  says  Fhocion,  “to 
discern  in  the  fate  of  nations,  that  recompense  which  the 
great  Author  of  Nature  has  annexed  to  the  practice  of  vir- 
tue. No  state  has  ever  ceased  to  be  prosperous,  but  in  con- 
sequence of  her  having  departed  from  those  institutions  to 
which  she  owed  her  prosperity.”  Rome,  in  the  eloquent 
language  of  her  Pliny,  cries  out  to  us  from  the  depths  of  the 
past  i “ Reverere  conditores , Deos , numina  Deorum.  Reve - 
rere  gloriam  veterem , et  hanc  ipsam  senectutem  quae  in 
nomine  venerabilis , in  urbibus  sacra  est .” 

Be  mindful  of  these  solemn  warnings  and  ever  reverence 


24 

the  glory  which  haloes  the  past  of  your  own  country.  Heed 
not  the  glimmering  lights  which  will  ever  and  anon  rise  up 
before  you  in  your  path  through  life.  They  are  but  the  ex- 
halations from  the  morass  of  error,  which,  when  followed, 
lead  the  incautious  traveller  to  his  destruction. 

There  is  a legend  told  of  a certain  band  of  Persian  Magi, 
who  were  once  passing  over  a dreary  desert.  Their  leader, 
on  one  occasion,  offered  a handsome  prize  to  the  man  who 
should  discover  the  first  rays  of  the  next  morning’s  sun.  At 
dawn  of  the  next  day  they  all  arose,  and  soon  the  struggle 
for  the  reward  commenced.  All  eyes,  save  one,  were  in- 
tently fixed  upon  the  Eastern  sky.  He  alone,  turned  to- 
wards the  West,  and  while  his  companions  were  laughing  at, 
what  they  deemed,  his  folly,  he  was  suddenly  heard  to  ex- 
claim, “I  see  it!”  “ I see  it!”  All  turned  in  surprise. 
Pointing  to  the  W est,  he  directed  their  eyes  to  the  first  rays 
of  the  rising  sun,  as  they  gilded  the  tops  of  the  distant  moun- 
tains, and  to  him  was  awarded  the  proffered  prize. 

So  will  it  be  with  you,  my  friends,  in  your  journey  through 
life.  You  will  find  the  majority  of  your  fellow-men  turn- 
ing with  contempt  from  the  Past,  and  looking,  with  eager 
gaze,  to  the  Future,  for  the  rising  of  that  sun  of  “Progress,” 
in  which  is  centred  all  their  hopes  for  their  country’s  future 
growth  and  prosperity.  Heed  not  their  sneers  ; but  turn  ye, 
with  reverential  eye,  to  the  Past.  There,  on  the  tops  of 
those  distant  mountains,  beneath  which  lie  buried  the  wis- 
dom and  experience  of  ages,  behold  reflected  the  first  and 
pure  rays  of  that  sun  of  political  Truth,  which  will  preserve 
undisturbed,  the  harmonious  movements  of  this  bright  con- 
stellation of  States,  until  the  designs  of  the  Great  Being,  who 
created  them,  shall  have  been  accomplished. 


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